UW Professor: Is Philosophy Sexist?

Gender bias and sexual harassment are relatively common in philosophy departments compared to other humanities fields, and less than 20 percent of philosophy faculty members are women. But our guest today says the University of Washington philosophy department is different. KUOW’s Ross Reynolds talks to Sara Goering, a philosophy professor and graduate program director at the University of Washington, about what’s being done to end lingering sexism in philosophy.

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Washington state is in the process of changing the language in state law to make it more gender neutral. Policemen are now police officers, for instance, and freshmen will become first-year students. Supporters say the change is needed because language matters. Critics say the changes are a waste of money. Ross Reynolds interviews University of Washington Sociolinguist Crispin Thurlow, and we take your phone calls.

A new report shows there is a 9.5 percent gap between the salaries earned by men who work for the city of Seattle, compared with the salaries of women. The mayor has asked a task force to look into the situation and make recommendations on how to close the gap.

Julie Nelson is the director of Seattle’s Office of Civil Rights. She’s on the task force. She says she hopes it will have an influence on private-sector gender pay gaps as well as the disparity within the city.